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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. land — a country
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. ground — crushed
  7. band — a music group
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. ground — a position
  11. band — a ring
  12. fine — high quality
  13. land — ground
  14. fine — all right
  15. kid — child
  16. press — a publisher
  17. kid — to tease
  18. land — to come down
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. press — newspapers
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. ground — the earth
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com